The Distillation

Acute AYA administration was well tolerated, increased introspection and positive mood, altered visual perceptions, activated frontal and paralimbic regions and decreased default mode network activity. It also improved planning and inhibitory control and impaired working memory, and showed anti-depressive and anti-addictive potentials. Long-term AYA use was associated with increased cortical thickness of the anterior cingulate cortex and cortical thinning of the posterior cingulate cortex, which was inversely correlated to age of onset, intensity of prior AYA use, and spirituality. Subacute and long-term AYA use was not associated with increased psychopathology or cognitive deficits, being associated with enhanced mood and cognition, increased spirituality, and reduced impulsivity. From the Article: The current state of reseach on ayahhuasca: A systematic review of human studies assessing psychiatric symptoms, neuropsychological functioning, and neuroimagingPublished by: Journal of PsychopharmacologylOriginal Link http://jop.sagepub.com/content/early/2016/06/09/0269881116652578.abstractArtwork Fair Use: Banisteriopsis caapi-CPPPR2.By CostaPPPR (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons6/14/2016

"It reminds me of how they sell cocaine and marijuana in Amsterdam," one local said. "Here, it's shamans and ayahuasca." No one monitors the medicine men, their claims, or their credentials.

With money rolling in and lodges popping up across Peru's sprawling Amazon, a new breed of shaman has emerged – and not all of them can be trusted with the powerful drug. Deaths like Nolan's are uncommon, but reports of molestation, rape, and negligence at the hands of predatory and inept shamans are not. In the past few years alone, a young German woman was allegedly raped and beaten by two men who had administered ayahuasca to her, two French citizens died while staying at ayahuasca lodges, and stories persist about unwanted sexual advances and people losing their marbles after being given overly potent doses. The age of ayahuasca as purely a medicinal, consciousness-raising pursuit seems like a quaint and distant past.From the Article: The dark side of ayahuascaPublished by: Men's JournalOriginal Link http://www.mensjournal.com/magazine/the-dark-side-of-ayahuasca-20130215Artwork Fair Use: Douglas DC-8-62, AeroPeru JP65201 By Pedro Aragão - Gallery page http://jetphotos.net/viewphoto.php?id=65201Photo http://images3.jetphotos.net/img/1/6/9/0/83622_1050454096.jpg, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=290251666/4/2016

It does mean that psychedelic drug use can be explained in evolutionary terms as a "hack" that enables transcendent states to be reached quickly.

If this story is true, what are its implications? One is that psychedelic drug use is no different, in principle, to practices like chanting, fasting, praying and meditating that religions typically use to bring about altered states of consciousness. Purists may object to drug taking because it lacks the spiritual discipline involved in such procedures. This is true, but one could just as easily argue that buying a car lacks the practical discipline of building an internal combustion engine from scratch. And in any event, there are many religions that use psychoactive substances in their ceremonies.

A few tiny salt-like grains of fentanyl are enough to get a person high. W-18 is even more potent. B.C. addictions specialist warns against 'mass hysteria' but admits W-18 'very scary'.

A B.C. addictions expert is warning people not to become hysterical about W-18, but is urging drug users to protect themselves by taking tiny test doses of any opioid they buy illegally. W-18 is a synthetic opioid painkiller developed in Alberta decades ago and abandoned, but now it's showing up again, and health officials are warning it's 100 times more powerful that Fentanyl, which has already become a health emergency. Police in Delta yesterday warned people to be extra vigilant after they confiscated drugs containing W-18 after searching labs in Burnaby, Richmond and Surrey. Dr. Seonaid Nolan is a clinician scientist at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS. Dr. Nolan also recommends communities to be watchful when dealing with opiate overdoses.From the Article: B.C. addictions specialist warns against 'mass hysteria' but admits W-18 'very scary'Published by: CBC News CanadaOriginal Link: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/w-18-opioid-drug-recreation-deadly-100-times-fentanyl-1.3621877Artwork Fair Use: CBC News Canada6/8/2016

To that end, we offer the following resolution as an appeal to end the so-called “War on Drugs.”

Whereas: The public policy of prohibition of certain narcotics and psychoactive substances, sometimes called the “War on Drugs,” has failed to achieve the goal of eliminating, or even reducing, substance abuse and... Whereas: There have been a large number of unintentional negative consequences as a result of this failed public policy... Whereas: Huge sums of our national treasury are wasted on this failed public policy and... Whereas: Other countries, such as Portugal and Switzerland, have dramatically reduced the incidence of death, disease, crime, and addiction by utilizing means other than prohibition to address the problem of substance abuse... Whereas: To people of color, the “War on Drugs” has arguably been the single most devastating, dysfunctional social policy since slavery... Whereas: The primary mission of our criminal justice system is to prevent violence to our citizens and their property, and to ensure their safety, therefore... Be it Resolved: That the New England Annual Conference supports seeking means other than prohibition to address the problem of substance abuse.From the Article: United Methodist resolution regarding the war on drugsPublished by: Law Enforcement Against ProhibitionOriginal Link: http://www.leap.cc/united_methodist_res/Artwork Fair Use: Reporting 1 Blog6/7/2016

After controlling for other factors known to affect health, especially tobacco use and socioeconomic status, marijuana use had no negative effect on any measure of health, except for dental health. People who smoked more weed had a higher incidence of gum disease.

It's also worth pointing out that this particular study looked at the impact of long-term marijuana use on physical health, but not on mental health. Meier has in fact used this same data set to explore questions of mental health effects, famously finding evidence of declining IQ among persistent marijuana users. But a number of follow-up studies by other researchers found no similar evidence of cognitive decline related to marijuana use. As with any research of this nature, a single paper is unlikely to be the final word on any particular subject. Still, Meier's latest study marshals up some convincing evidence that marijuana's toll on physical health may be far less than once feared.From the Article: Chronic marijuana use is about as bad for your health as not flossing, researcher findPublished by: Washington PostOriginal Link https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/06/02/chronic-marijuana-use-is-about-as-bad-for-your-health-as-not-flossing-researchers-find/Artwork Fair Use: Oberkiefer Frontzähne (obere mittlere Schneidezähne, Zähne 11 und 21) By Politikaner - Own work (own picture), CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=79754746/4/2016

It’s Trudeau’s call now. The nationwide cannabis legalisation may be a good thing, but he also needs to convince other countries that it’s not just a Canadian thing.

Canada’s legalisation of marijuana, for both recreational and medicinal purposes, will be a historical moment for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and such a thing will not go unnoticed in other countries. It is expected have a direct effect on existing global treaties, international partnerships on the war against illegal drugs, and other nations’ decision to also consider decriminalising the weed on a national scale.From the Article: Canada's marijuana legalisation could directly affect the global war on drugs among many othersPublished by: Internaltional Business TimesOriginal Link http://www.ibtimes.com.au/canadas-marijuana-legalisation-could-directly-affect-global-war-drugs-among-many-others-1515916Artwork Fair Use: Canada Flag by Preston48 (http//www.dreamphysique.ca/) [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons6/4/2016

Stressing a distinction between legalisation and decriminalisation, he said it would remain a crime to sell, distribute or profit from illicit drugs. But it would not be a crime to be a drug user or addict.

“This will be a wider discussion under the next government but once people get their head around the argument, about what decriminalisation actually means, that policy won’t be about the drug but about the individual. Then regardless of the drug the individual needs an intervention and society will be saying, ‘the substance is illegal, but you are not a criminal for taking it’.” He concluded: “Above all the mode must be person-centred and involve an integrated approach to treatment and rehabilitation based on a continuum of care with clearly defined referral pathways.” His comments follow a leaked report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, appearing to call for a worldwide decriminalisation on 19 October 2016. The report was reportedly withdrawn after at least one nation put pressure on the international body to bury the findings of Dr Monica Beg, chief of the HIV/AIDs section of the UNODC in Vienna.

The dominoes keep falling. Ireland is the latest country to begin the process of decriminalising small amounts of drugs such as heroin, cocaine and cannabis for personal use. It joins at least 25 more countries around the world that have decided to remove users – not drugs – from the criminal justice system.

What does regulation entail? Countries, states and cities are experimenting with de facto decriminalisation, prescription-based approaches, strict market regulation, loose regulation, and even commercial promotion as in some US states. There are different ways to practically making drugs available in controlled manner, including medical prescription, sales in pharmacies, licensed sales and premises, and even unlicensed providers. For example, Uruguay, one of Latin America´s safest countries, never criminalized drug use and started regulating the production and sale of cannabis in 2013. The system offers multiple possibilities - users can grow up to six plants, can join cannabis clubs, or they can purchase cannabis from pharmacies later this year.﻿﻿

"Once we tame the black market and show people a formerly illegal substance can be legalized and regulated, it becomes harder to use the same scare tactics."

Nationwide, between 21,000 and 33,000 businesses get some or all of their revenue from the marijuana industry. Legalization efforts have also proved hearty in the face of legal challenges.DEA will carry out its assessment of the FDA recommendation in accordance with the [Controlled Substances Act] and hopes to release its determination in the first half of 2016," the DEA said in a letter to a group of Democratic senators.

ECfES

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